2008 Dakotas-Montana Tornado Outbreak
This unusual and violent outbreak occurred from 10th to 13th June 2008, with 44 confirmed tornadoes on the ground, including 5 EF3s and one EF4. This also caused Idaho's first deadly tornado since reliable records began in 1950, and several record-breaking twisters in their respective regions were confirmed. Eight twisters claimed a total of 44 combined indirect fatalities and 216 indirect injuries, one of them being Idaho's first directly-deadly tornado direct fatalities and at least 11 injuries. Summary At least 8 directly-deadly tornadoes hit the Black Hills region, as the outbreak also took place in some areas in Minnesota and Wyoming as well. The deadliest tornadoes of the outbreak are tied for deadliest fatalities happened in Fort Benton-Chinook, MT and near Fargo, ND, both on 12th June. No deadly twisters happened on 13th June, as that was the only day with no deadly/significant tornadoes reported/confirmed. Four of the eight deadly tornadoes happened on June 12th. Overall, at least 21 people were directly killed in this outreak, along with 44 indirect fatalities, two from a natural gas explosion, and several others five forest fires, along with several cases of lightning strikes and hail. One case was also because when a coincidental EF2 hit a hospital in Butte, Montana, 2 patients died due to natural causes. Several other patients were directly injured, but only one direct fatality was recorded in Butte. Ten direct fatalities were confirmed in Montana, along with 13 indirect fatalities, as Montana had the most fatalities combined. The two longest-track tornadoes out of all of them in the Black Hills region since 1950 also happened with this outbreak, and despite sparse population of most impacted regions, at least $250 million in direct damage about $45 million in indirect damages was tallied. Notable Tornadoes Eleven notable twisters, only one not being deadly or indirectly slammed into the Black Hills area within just the four days. June 10th Note: other non-notable tornadoes caused an additional four injuries. Wishek, ND Tornado A rope but damaging tornado formed as a waterspout in the Green Lake, and grew more powerful as it hit land. Several wooden homes from the 19th century were almost completely swept away, as trees were uprooted nearby. The tornado also crossed through several ponds while on its way to Wishek. Very few structures were impacted for the first 5.5 miles of its journey. Only five structures were even damaged at all, but four of them were demolished due to being built in the 19th century. It then hit the Wishek Airport. All of the structures sustained significant damage, and just seconds later, it hit the suburbs of Wishek, then hit downtown, with more suburbs hit. It died just 35 seconds after hitting Wishek. In the very end, this tornado left at least 29 homes destroyed damage or higher and 255+ homes damaged. One person got killed when his warehouse collapsed on him just after he escorted everyone to the bathrooms. Nine people were injured, and about $2.5 million in damages were resulted from the tornado's 9-mile path. St. Lawrence, SD 2008 Tornado A deadly EF3 tornado tracked through mostly rural areas throughout most of its life. It did, however, hit a few farmhouses on its way to St. Lawrence. By the time it hit St. Lawrence 15 minutes after forming, 10 farmhouses would be demolished, and two farmowners would be injured. It then hit St. Lawrence, population 196 the time, and hit a cluster of well-built homes. At least 12 homes were destroyed, and 61 were damaged within the 1,200-metre funnel. It hit the Miller Municipal Airport, and just barely avoided the nearby city of Miller. Simultaneously, it destroyed a Miday Drive-In, and caused over $2.5 million to those 2 properties alone. It left one fatality and sixteen injuries occurred from the tornado, only two injuries occurring outside of automobiles, one in a mobile home and another in a brick home. The fatality occurred when the tornado destroyed a mobile home and killed a 27-year-old man. A second fatality was confirmed, but it was confirmed indirect, as it was caused by a car crash, which happened, very coincidentally, in the tornado's path shortly after it hit a few structures in St. Lawrence. Two injuries also occurred resulting from that wreck. Black Eagle, MT Tornado A breif but strong tornado hit the downtown area of Black Eagle, population 889 as of 2008, and caused significant damage to many structures along its path. This was the third to the last deadly tornado in almost 6 years, as this tornado caused significant to major damage to 44 homes, completely destroying eighteen homes, damaging almost 100 homes in an extremely short but very wide *for its short path length* path of destruction. It killed two people and left 17 injured, and the tornado lasted not even five minutes, cutting a path approximately 300 metres wide and up to 2.7 miles long. It also looked as if the city of Grand Falls, just over a mile south from Black Eagle, dodged a bullet as the tornado dissipated less than 300 feet outside of the city limits. Officials have claimed had it not spared Grand Falls, the fatality total could've been much higher. June 11th Note: 5 more injuries occurred from a non-notable tornado. Rawlins, WY Tornado A thin but strong EF2 tornado struck the city of Rawlins 2 minutes after it formed. Tracking a 5.2-mile path up to 100 metres wide, it killed one person in a mobile home, and injured 16 others in the city limits, injuring one more person outside of the city on US 287 shortly before the city was hit. Several homes were destroyed, around fifty damaged in total. This was Wyoming's last deadly tornado for a streak of almost 11 entire years. June 12th Only 1 separate direct tornado-related injury was claimed from a non-notable tornado. Salmon Tornado of 2008 WIP Fargo, ND 2008 Tornado At around 6:57 PM MDT, a Tornado Warning was issued for the city of Fargo.